Much is made of hip-hop’s do-it-yourself ethic, but RJD2
seems more interested in the do-it-all end of the music-making
spectrum.
The versatile DJ/producer will showcase his determinedly
progressive instrumental music tonight at 8 p.m. in Ackerman Grand
Ballroom, equipped with only four turntables and a sampler. The
show is free to UCLA students and is presented by the Campus Events
Commission.
RJD2’s 2002 debut album, “Dead Ringer,” became
one of the most talked about records of its year among underground
fans and immediately vaulted him into the upper echelon of hip-hop
producers. Its cut-and-paste sonic collages were not entirely new
to hip-hop instrumental, but RJD2 proved more adept at the
multi-dimensional task of backing MCs than his predecessors,
achieving a unique blend of funky, soulful and futuristic
sounds.
However, RJD2 was not fully satisfied with the success of
“Dead Ringer,” which was originally intended as a
single and then an EP before being expanded into a full-length
album.
“”˜Dead Ringer’ was done in a manner where I
didn’t think about doing an album,” he explained.
“I didn’t have it all together, and I was still
learning what I really wanted to do.”
His work after “Dead Ringer” would reveal his true
nature as an artist doggedly progressive, constantly striving to
try as many different styles and approaches as possible.
His second solo effort, last year’s “Since We Last
Spoke,” was hardly the “Dead Ringer Part 2″ that
some fans and critics were expecting. Now, more in control of his
artistic output, RJD2 focused heavily on tighter song structure,
and incorporated live instrumentation and even the singing of his
own lyrics.
“I had a clearer idea of how to execute what I wanted to
do. A lot of “˜Dead Ringer’ was relying on
samples,” he said. “I felt like it would be going
backward to put myself in that mind state again.”
The record also signified a more pointed foray into rock, and,
like his other recent work, drew on a more eclectic mix of
influences.
“For whatever reason, I can’t sit down and make a
solo record where I’m taking numerous stabs at a similar
sound. It’s just not interesting to me. The musicians I look
up to are the people who continue to progress and do different
things,” he said. “If I do one song and it’s 95
beats per minute and it’s got a raucous, bombastic, louder
approach, it’s gonna be more interesting if I sit down and do
something contrasting, rather than falling into habit.”
This near-allergic aversion to settling into one type of sound,
is, in the end, what sets RJD2 apart from most other producers. But
it has also lost him the favor of some of the very critics and fans
who were heralding his work in the first place and had burdened him
with their own expectations. The timing of the release of
“Dead Ringer” on the independent label Def Jux
continues to associate the record in the minds of fans with the
aura of invincibility that the Def Jux camp then commanded, when
artists such as Cannibal Ox, El-P and Aesop Rock seemingly could do
no wrong.
“I don’t know about critics,” he said.
“There were a few songs on “˜Since We Last Spoke’
which almost every review picked out as the worst songs. Then I
went on tour, and, city after city, there would be at least one or
two people coming up to me and saying, “˜Those are my favorite
songs on the record!’ The fans that I’ve kept are fans
because they want to hear something a little more
adventurous.”
RJD2’s current slate of projects is further evidence of
his drive to tackle anything he can get his hands on. He has
recently finished a slew of remixes, including one for R&B
songstress Tweet. He has begun work on a new Soul Position record
with MC/producer Blueprint, as well as a project with legendary
underground rapper Aceyalone. He’s even working on a score
for a video game to be announced at E3. And as for his next solo,
he hasn’t quite made up his mind.
“It could be a natural progression toward being more
song-writing oriented, which is something I gravitate toward
naturally, but I also feel like it’d be just as much of a
challenge to try and do a theme record. Both of these options are
equally enticing to me,” he said.